Chapter 5: Deja Vu

It was dark. Mario, Peach, Apricot, and Forge were now traveling back to the castle, going the same way they came. They happened to pass by the same pipe the two had entered to hide long before. Belome, in a strange occurrence of him not being underground, was nearby.

"Delivery girl, you're late!" Belome bellowed. "You should have brought the two courses earlier!"

"Belome! Not you again!" Mario said.

"Well, better late than never, I suppose. Come on, my child. Hand them over."

"Eep..." Apricot said, walking back.

"What? You forgot who made you?" Belome said, looking quite annoyed. "... No matter. Come back where you belong, my little dessert..."

"What? AGH! Get out of my head!"

"What are you doing to her?" Forge angrily asked.

"As long as I'm nearby, I can control the minds of every last clone I make. Why do you think she attacked you instead of wondering what just happened in the first few seconds of her life?"

"So all of the clones you've made were real people you made us kill?" Peach said, angry.

"Oh, please. They're little more than magically created puppets. They dissolve into a cloud of smoke when they die. They might be physically identical to the original, but they're only a means to an end. They'll never be real people. I'm surprised you thought of her as a person, let alone human," Belome responded.

"Why do you care? Everything's dinner to you, monster!" Mario retorted.

"Some things are dinner; some things are silverware and china. But enough of this silly philosophical debate. Attack, my pretty!"

Apricot, now fully under control, stood up and took a fighting stance.

"No, Apricot! Fight it!" Peach cried.

"You actually named her? How delicious... too bad she's with me again!"

"Oh, shut up!" Mario yelled, throwing a fireball right in Belome's face.

"HOT! HOTHOTHOTHOT!" Belome cried in pain. "I didn't ask for the hot sauce!"

Thus, Mario and Belome faced off like last time, but with Forge assisting. And, like last time as well, Peach confronted her clone. Peach was definitely not interested in fighting her clone again, especially after confirming that she was a person in her own right.

"Apricot, you can't do this! You can't just let yourself be a tool for Belome!"

Her clone was apparently not interested in talking, only responding with a punch which Peach dodged.

"Surely you heard him! He doesn't value your existence at all! You're not just a mere puppet!

Her clone still refused to speak, only attacking her. It was as if this particular brainwashing attempt made her a single-minded killing machine. Frustrated, Peach tackled her and pinned her to the ground, albeit slightly injuring herself on her clone's outfit's spikes of doom. She tried to ignore it.

"This isn't the first time this has happened to you. Princess Apricot, please... you can't let yourself be a mere tool. You can't just let him control you!"

The clone cried in pain, apparently suffering from a serious headache. Holding her down onto the floor was getting easier.

"Peach... help... me..."

Mario and Forge threw fireballs and hammers respectively at Belome, forcing him back into a tree which soon ignited. Unfortunately, they were too busy to notice him preparing Aurora Flash until the last second. Mario recognized the attack and backed off, but Forge, not having fought Belome before, succumbed to the magical spell and fell unconscious.

"Enough habañero!" Belome yelled, lashing at Mario with his tongue, only to be ground-pounded once more.

"Don't you ever try something else?" Mario asked. "This is getting silly."

"No, this is silly!" Belome said, spraying Mario with S'crow Funk. Unable to dodge in time, Mario was quickly turned into a living scarecrow. "Forgot your Trueform Pin, did you? How shameful. Now, just sit there while I check on my little friend."

Belome turned around to see Peach embracing her clone. Had the control been broken again? Had she had gotten too accustomed to having free will to be completely under his control? Needless to say, he was not amused at all.

"What is this, some nonsensical aesop about love?" Belome yelled. "Beat her to a pulp, already!"

Apricot turned to her master and said, "N-no."

"DO IT!

"DO THIS!" Mario shouted, subjecting Belome to a 16-hit Super Jump.

"Wha...? I thought you couldn't move!"

"The scarecrow status effect allows special attacks and defensive maneuvers. Surely, you would know that." Mario said, unloading more fire on his enemy. "Peach, a little help here?"

"I'm still trying to help her! But maybe I can do this..." Peach said, casting Group Hug. Forge was far beyond range to be affected, but Mario was human again. Mario attempted another fireball barrage, but failed.

"I'm out of juice? Mama mia..."

"So what happens if I S'crow Funk you again?"

"You won't," Forge said, sliding in his shell through Belome.

"Forge? I thought you were-"

"Falling branches make some noise. Flaming falling branches, I might add. And right next to my head, even. Some friend you are."

"Well, that timing was awfully convenient."

Belome got up, now starting to show signs of fatigue. Maybe he had bitten off a little more than he could chew. His creation didn't want to be his anymore, and Mario, although lacking firepower, wasn't worse for the wear. Perhaps one rogue clone wasn't worth this much fighting.

"Fine then. Keep my silverware. Goodbye, everyone!" Belome said, hopping away.

"Come back here!" Mario shouted, starting to go after him before realizing that it was futile. "*sigh* Well, so much for that."

"Apricot, are you alright?"

"I... think so..."

"Well, now that he's out of the picture, let's get back to the Mushroom Kingdom."

"Wait... whose idea was it to come through here, anyway?" Forge asked.

"... It was my idea. I didn't think he'd be waiting above ground." Mario said.

"So... I was made just to be a puppet?" Apricot asked.

"Well... there's no getting around that. You were brought into this world just to kill us."

"I..."

"Perhaps I shouldn't have said that."

"But why would he go so far as to make perfect copies which could have their own will?" Forge asked.

"Perhaps they needed a lot of intelligence... or perhaps he didn't even care. After all, everything's food to him," Mario said.

"He'd create clones with full ability to... Wow. Just wow," Forge said.

"Or maybe he could just have done that to mess with the original. But why would he argue that they're just puppets?" Peach asked.

"I don't know, but I don't want him making any more," Mario answered. "We need to capture him somehow. I would swarm him with an army of Toads, but knowing them..."

"... they'd all run away," Peach finished.

"Maybe we should continue this discussion when we get to the castle and settle in. Agreed?" Mario said.

And so, the four headed out the forest and continued their journey to the castle.

Our heroes entered the town (mostly empty at this time of night) and headed for the castle's front entrance.

"Mario! Peach! You're back! And... who is this?" A castle guard asked.

"Clone. Long story. Please let me through." Mario said.

"Ooookay. Sure thing." The guard responded, opening the door. The four met Toadsworth right behind it.

"Mario! Your highness! It's about time you returned!" Toadsworth said. "And I see you brought her back, along with someone else..."

"Forge the Hammer Bro," Forge said.

"So... what are you doing in that outfit, of all things?" Toadsworth asked.

"Bowser picked it out and basically manipulated her into wearing it," Mario answered.

"Oh, dear. Can we get you psychological assistance?" Toadsworth offered.

"Now, Toads... well, actually, that might be a good idea," Peach responded.

"You're actually agreeing with me? By Jove, what's happened to you?"

"Nothing... but she's been brainwashed from 'birth' by Belome, subjected to Stockholm Syndrome, and brainwashed again because Belome decided to get some fresh air tonight, not to mention the dehumanizing things he said. I'd probably expect the general population to be a little freaked out when they hear about it."

"I... don't know..." Apricot said.

"It'd be for your own good. Surely, all that much trauma can't be good for you."

"Incidentally, do you have a name yet?" Toadsworth asked.

"We named her Apricot," Peach said.

"Apricot... Well, I'll make it official, then. Now, how am I going to tell you two apart?"

"She's perfectly fine with a shorter hairstyle and green dresses. Right?" Mario asked her.

"... Yes," Apricot responded.

"Speak up, my dear lady! No need to be so shy..." Toadsworth said. "Well, Mario, I bid you adieu. And for you two, the guest rooms are currently empty. Take any particular two you like."

Apricot, now in the bed-wear the castle provided, turned out the light in her guest room and went to bed.

And thus, our story ends. Or does it? Will Mario ever hunt down the amoral four-eyed beast called Belome? Will Apricot stop using ellipses so much? Why am I asking all these questions? Who am I? Who are you? Am I nothing but a bunch of words on a computer screen? Find out (maybe) on the next episode of THE CLONE SAGAAAAAAAA!